Chakrata stone-throwing: Rawat meets BJP MP in hospital

DEHRADUN: Chief minister Harish Rawat met BJP MP Tarun Vijay in a city hospital on Saturday, a day after he was injured in a stone-throwing incident while leading a group of Dalits into a temple in the tribal-dominated Chakrata area.

Vijay, a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand, is undergoing treatment for head injuries at Max Hospital.

“Vijayji is getting full medical care in the hospital…We have also kept a helicopter in reserve in case doctors advise him to be shifted to some specialty hospital outside the state,” the chief minister said.

Upper-caste villagers allegedly threw stones at the BJP MP and other members of the Dalit community outside the Sindugur Mahraj temple, where the entry of backward caste people is prohibited, in Chakrata’s Punah village on Friday.

Rawat has ordered an inquiry by Garhwal commissioner CS Napalchyal into the incident.

“We have ordered a commissioner-level inquiry into the violent incident. Those responsible for it will soon be arrested,” Rawat said on Saturday, after chairing an urgently called meeting to discuss the incident.

Apart from state home minister Preetam Singh, a Congress MLA from Chakrata, several senior administrative and police officials also attended the meeting.

Rawat said he had instructed the officials to ensure that the atmosphere of social amity in Charkara was not affected by Friday’s violence. “We are also appealing to the senior citizens and enlightened people of the area to ensure social harmony,” he said.

Principal secretary (Home) Umakant Panwar said the chief minister had directed officials to increase the police presence in Chakrata.